Help! My my canon 580ex ii speedlite won't stay on

[Grandmother58]

Help please:

I have had my my canon 580ex ii speedlite for 5 or so years now & have never really had a chance to learn how to use it as it will not stay on. I have replaced the batteries often, only to have new batteries stop working immediately. I have decided that I finally, finally need to address this but fear I may have waited to late & just have a defective speedlite. Does anyone have any suggestions for this busy & frustrated grandmother?

Jeanette

[RobertTheFat]

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@Grandmother58 wrote:

Help please:

I have had my my canon 580ex ii speedlite for 5 or so years now & have never really had a chance to learn how to use it as it will not stay on. I have replaced the batteries often, only to have new batteries stop working immediately. I have decided that I finally, finally need to address this but fear I may have waited to late & just have a defective speedlite. Does anyone have any suggestions for this busy & frustrated grandmother?

Jeanette

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Does this happen randomly or only when you've just been using it heavily? If the latter, it probably means that the unit is in danger of overheating and has shut down to prevent that from happening. This is why event photographers, who don't have a lot of choice about when they take their shots, often carry a spare speedlite along to use while their main unit is cooling off.

[Grandmother58]

Thanks for your response. It happens when I first start to use it. The lite is barely used due to this issue.

[kvbarkley]

What kind of batteries are you using? Fresh Alkalines would be the best.

When it is working with fresh batteries, how long does it take to recharge after you hit the test button?